Religion

The Destiny of the Dead
There is much about the period between physical death and the resurrection that is not revealed in the Bible but three things are clear: First, at the time of death there is a separation between the body, the Spirit and the soul. The physical body is put in the grave, but the soul and spirit live on in eternity.
Second, the Spirits and the Souls of those who were righteous go to a different place than those who were wicked. Third, the destiny of the righteous was different before and after the death of Jesus Christ.
Jesus revealed what happens after death through the story of a beggar named Lazarus who laid at a rich man’s gate. “And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom, the rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Pastor (Dr.) Ezekiel Oyekanmi

But Abraham said, “son remember that thou in thy life time receiveth thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence” (Luke 16:22-26).
At death, the physical body returns to the earth. - - - - “ for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return” (Genesis 3: I9b.) The soul and spirit of man enter a new existence in eternity. There is still a personality recognition of one person by another, and awareness of present conditions. The destiny of the spirits of the righteous is different from that of the spirit of the wicked. Both Lazarus and the rich man went to a place of departed spirits called in the Hebrew language “Sheol” and in the Greek language “Hades”. But the destinies of the two men were different. The rich man was in a place of torment, called ‘Hell’ Lazarus was in a place of rest. Between these two places there was a gulf that could not be crossed from either Side. If the gulf could not be crossed, then it means there is no hope to change the eternity destiny of the soul after death. Because of this, it is of no value to pray for the dead. The decision to accept or reject Jesus as Saviour must be made during this life. It is this decision that determines the destiny of your soul. The place of rest for departed spirits of the righteous was called “Abraham’s bosom”. This means it was a place for those who follow the same faith of Abraham by serving the one true and living God.
The story of Lazarus and the rich man reveals what happened to departed souls before and after the death - and resurrection of Jesus. After his resurrection the destiny of the souls of the wicked remained the same but the destiny of righteous souls changed. When Jesus died, He said “Father, into thy hands 1 commend my spirit; His body was laid in a tomb but the destiny of His spirit was decided by God. The Bible reveals what happen to the Spirit of Christ after death.
“Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower part of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up for above all heavens, that He might fill all things” (Eph.4:9-10).
Before His death, Jesus told the dying thief who repented. “Today shall thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). The spirit of Jesus descended into “sheol”, the place of all departed spirits. First, He went to the place of the spirits of the righteous. This was called “paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom”. From the paradise, Jesus went further into the area of “sheol” reserved for the wicked spirits. This was necessary in order for Him to complete the work of atonement for man’s sin. He had to endure the physical and spiritual penalties of sin. The physical penalty was physical death. The spiritual penalty was separation from God which is called spiritual death. Jesus experienced that in “sheol”. Then the spirit of Jesus ascended from “sheol” back to the world. At that time; His body which had been lying lifeless in the tomb, was raised up from the death. His soul, spirit and body were reunited to form a complete personality. As we learn in our last write-up, we said Jesus appeared in visible form to many on earth before He return to Heaven.
The events between the death and resurrection of Jesus set a new pattern for the destiny of righteous soul. Prior to Christ’s resurrection, departed spirits of the righteous went to paradise. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the spirit of the righteous could ascend immediately into the presence of God. This is confirmed in the record of the death of Stephen. ‘’But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of God. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep”. (Act 7:55-56, 59-60).
Moments before his death, Stephen saw a vision of Jesus in Heaven at the right hand of God. His words, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit” indicate he knew that immediately upon death his soul and Spirit would go directly to Heaven. The Apostle Paul confirms this: “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. .... we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent fron the body and to be present with the Lord’.’ (II Cor. 5:6,8)
Paul compare the value of death to that of remaining alive in order to fulfill his earthly ministry, He said that to be absent .from the body is to be with Christ. “For to me to live in Christ and to die is gain ........ (Phil, 2: 1-24.).
In addition to the new destiny of the righteous deed, Jesus set another new pattern that will be followed by a11 men. At death, man’s spirit and soul will go to the realm of the departed spirits, The righteous will ascend to the presenced of God. The wicked will go to a place of torment (Hell). At the time of resurrection, the body will be raised again from death and reunited with the spiritual soul. I wish all of us the best in our Christian Journey.



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